Dichotomy

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Dichotomy

Postby di gama » Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:44 am

I wrote this story for a short story contest, and I figured it might help here. Although it was not technically written as a part of Myst, it was heavily influenced by Myst (I was reading the BoT at the time), and is relatively well-defined (since the story is mainly geared toward describing the place, rather than the plot). If you like, you can skip the story below and read my summary if you don't want to read the whole thing (it was published 6 pages long).

a long story Show Spoiler


This story describes three separate regions spanning an entire planet (which itself poses a problem). The "top" is a red world—everything is some hue of red—and there are no plants, but some unusual rocks. It is set in a large canyon (500 or so feet across and 300 feet deep) which is made of a pink slate-like material (vath) near the surface and a rougher red sandstone-like rock (sakka) at the bottom of the canyon. There is no water at the bottom (the canyon was created by tectonic activity). There are several balconies set in the canyon, which lead to tunnels in a large network to form the village.

One specific rock of note are the ferry-rocks. They vary in size from 8-or-so inches in diameter (Tethys' pocket rock) to a meter or two (the elevator rock). They have the curious ability to "grab" onto empty space (like a thumbtack stuck to a nonexistent wall) or drift with constant velocity, as if there were no gravity. (Imagine Spire rocks, except without falling up.) Only the rock itself is affected by this, though—someone standing on the rock would still feel gravity pushing them onto the rock even while it floats. At extreme speeds it can be observed that the rocks only apply a great deal of deceleration (rather than instantly sticking to wherever it is used). The rock's "abilities" can be turned on by a change in your force on it (i.e. push off from it) and turned off by twisting the rock quickly. When "off," they behave like normal rocks. They tend to be flat on top and rough and glowing red on the bottom.

Above the canyon is a flat region of vath with other canyons (and other villages) visible in the distance. There are also giant planes of rock stuck in the ground, flat on the front and back, stuck vertical, and partially transparent (and pink). They are about 2000-3000 feet tall, 1000-1500 feet wide, and uniformly 50 feet thick across the objects (imagine thick broken glass stuck vertically). They are perfectly smooth on the faces, and the sides can curve, but are smooth as well. The sky is thick and cloudy (red clouds), but you can see the occasional star. You can also usually see The Sisters, which is the planet's moon. It is roughly hourglass-shaped, with two masses of rock (white rock, but tinged by the atmosphere) rotating rapidly (24 seconds per revolution).

At the bottom of this canyon is a hole, a perfectly smooth borehole into the planet. Looking down shows that it is extremely long (beyond eyesight). It is also strangely smooth, like polished marble. It is in fact a perfect cylindrical hole of about 14 feet in diameter through the entire planet. By following this hole (via gravity), the main character discovers the second region, which is a massive geode (10000 feet in diameter) set in the center of the planet. There are many crystals lining the walls, hundreds of feet tall and all glowing purple.

The hole continues on through to the other side of the planet, where the world is, in fact, Earth-like. The part where the hole exits is in a sparse forest with a little undergrowth and a nearby river. The Sisters are visible here too, but bluish this time.

I didn't expect the summary to be quite so long, but it's a complicated place. The story's a better read though. So, what do you guys like about it? Dislike? I'd love some feedback.
di gama
 
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Re: Dichotomy

Postby di gama » Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:39 pm

bump: I think this might have more luck in today's environment.
di gama
 
Posts: 41
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Re: Dichotomy

Postby Shoggoth » Thu Mar 25, 2010 6:09 pm

Okay, I really like this. Very creative, unusual, and potentially quite beautiful. I'm not sure how easy it would be to make, but it doesn't sound impossible with our current abilities. Were you planning on making it yourself?
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